Trial starts in drive-by slayings

Testimony began Tuesday in the trial of two men accused of gunning down two people during a retaliatory drive-by shooting in May 2008 in Big Spring.

Jose Robledo Nava and James Johnathan Cole are both charged with two counts of using a firearm to commit murder during or in retaliation to a drug trafficking crime and one count of conspiracy to sell at least 5 kilograms of cocaine and at least 100 kilograms of marijuana.

Nava and Cole face a possible death sentence or life in federal prison if convicted.

Nava, a state/regional leader of the Almighty Latin Kings and Queens Nation, according to witnesses, is also charged with three other gun and drug charges.

According to the indictment filed in January that supersedes previous indictments, Nava and Cole used an AK-47-style rifle to kill Valerie Garcia and Michael Cardona.

Jurors on Tuesday heard testimony from Border Patrol and Drug Enforcement Agency agents, in addition to a Lubbock Police undercover narcotics officer who made multiple cocaine buys from Nava, known on the street as Chino, dating to 2001.

The jury also saw federal surveillance footage from a community center near Uvalde showing Nava at a large meeting of Latin King leaders.

Testimony is scheduled to resume today at the federal courthouse, but those wishing to attend should be prepared for heightened security.

In addition to the already stringent security screenings at the building, visitors must leave a photo ID with the security staff.

Federal police are posted at entrances, and all phones or other two-way communication devices, weapons and sharp objects are forbidden.